Houston Astros outfielder Jake Marisnick shares a laugh with Thomas and Holly Tristan as part of the Astros Caravan on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019 at Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital in The Woodlands.

Houston Astros outfielder Jake Marisnick shares a laugh with Thomas and Holly Tristan as part of the Astros Caravan on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019 at Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital in The Woodlands.

Photo: Cody Bahn, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer

Photo: Cody Bahn, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer

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Houston Astros outfielder Jake Marisnick shares a laugh with Thomas and Holly Tristan as part of the Astros Caravan on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019 at Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital in The Woodlands.

Houston Astros outfielder Jake Marisnick shares a laugh with Thomas and Holly Tristan as part of the Astros Caravan on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019 at Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital in The Woodlands.

The bright, cloudless skies on Thursday paled in comparison to the smiles of Astros fans inside Houston Methodist The Woodlands.

The reason for the smiles? A visit by Houston Astros outfielder Jake Marisnick, first baseman Tyler White and announcer Geoff Blum, all of whom made a stop at the hospital to greet patients and fans as part of the team’s community outreach event, the Astros Caravan.

“We have a chance to give back,” Marisnick said. “Our voice carries a lot of weight in the community, so to get out and get active is a big thing for a lot of us.”

Every year as the season looms, the Astros Caravan takes team members and staff of the Astros Organization around Texas and Houston to meet fans and engage in community programs before they report to spring training in February.

“The fans come out and cheer for us every day,” Marisnick said. “To get out and say thank you to them personally is great.”

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The Houston Astros Caravan made its stop at Houston Memorial The Woodlands Hospital on Thursday, Jan. 24 in The Woodlands.

Media: Houston Chronicle

For young patient Maverick Tristan, the day is one likely to be retold over and over in stories as he grows up playing catch with his dad.

Maverick, born Jan. 9 — almost three months early — slept soundly in his incubator while Thomas and Holly Tristan visited with Marisnick and White. The couple, both Houston natives, jumped at the chance of having their baby boy meet the World Series winners and had their “Earn History” rally towels ready for autographing.

“Sports are a big thing for me,” Thomas Tristan said. “I want him to be involved; I want to take him to games. I’m excited to look back on today.”

The visit to Houston Methodist was the latest in a line of rewarding moments White has spent with fans around the city, he said.

“It brightens up their day,” he said. “I can imagine sitting in one spot or laying there for a long time can’t be fun.”

More than a month after her daughter’s difficult delivery and a complicated recovery, Lauren Shaw and her family see a light at the end of the tunnel. The family is hopeful their Lauren will be discharged by the weekend. Lauren, her husband, son and mother chatted with Marisnick, White and Blum about the coming season and congratulated them on the 2017 World Series win still so fresh in Houstonians’ minds.

“We’re huge Astros fans,” Lauren Shaw said.

After her daughter was born on Dec. 19, Shaw suffered from hematomas, abscesses and severe blood loss. The Astros visit, she said, was a high point after more than a month of pain and welcome break in the monotony of hospital life.

“I have the same routine every day — the most exciting part of my day is The Price is Right,” Shaw said. “(The visit) Made my day, for sure.”

Houston native Baber Chamen is fiercely loyal to his team — the only TV service the family can get at their rural home doesn’t offer a lot in the way of live Astros coverage, and he refuses to watch that “team up north.” Until recently, he and his daughter, Michelle, had never missed a game, and he talked shop with Marisnick and White.

Still, Chamen knows what he likes to see on the diamond — his favorite player?